Chief’s Message, June 2013: Traffic, Speed Enforcement with Motors

June 3, 2013 — A new “Chief’s Message” video posted online today features a conversation between Chief Chris Burbank and Motorcycle Officer Scott Smith about traffic and speed enforcement in the city:

“One of the biggest questions that always comes from the public,” Burbank said in the video, “is, well, ‘how do you choose enforcement — is it so we can generate lots of revenue?’ And actually that’s not the case. Tell me how you pick your enforcement spots,” he asked Smith.

“We have our website, slcpd.com, where citizens can go on there, they can click on the contact us button, find the information to actually be able to request enforcement in their specific area that they live,” Smith said. “Whether it be a stop sign or speed problem, they can send that request in and from there, we as the motor squad get tasked out to go and sit on that specific problem and find a resolution.”

Burbank and Smith also talk about the dangers of speeding, which they said contributes to the severity of accidents. Said Smith: “It [speeding] is dangerous for increasing your stopping time, but all in all it contributes hugely to the accident amounts in the city.”

Established in 1909, the SLCPD Motorcycle Squad is one of the oldest in the West. Its three sergeants and 26 officers are tasked with traffic enforcement, including stop sign and stoplight violations, speeding and DUI driving.

About the “Chief’s Message”

Chief Burbank issues a monthly video message to help the public reduce its exposure to, or mitigate the effects of, crime. All “Chief’s Messages” are archived on the newsroom page of www.slcpd.com and the “Chief’s Message” playlist of www.youtube.com/saltlakecitypolice.